Keep Me Warm
by Rosesdancinginmymind
Summary: Emma finds a frozen Regina in the woods. A SwanQueen oneshot.


_Summary: Emma finds a frozen Regina in the woods. A SwanQueen oneshot._

_I don't own Once or its characters. Apologies for any mistakes. Hope you enjoy :) _

Emma's heart thumps wildly in her chest as she runs through the trees. It's been twelve minutes since she got a panicked phone call from Henry. The seconds tick by like hours and she wishes she could move faster and just find him. It was one of the worst phone calls of her life. She had been sitting at the Diner when her phone rang. She was expecting Henry to ask to be picked up or that he was going to a friend's place. She wasn't expecting her world to fall to pieces.

_"Hey kid what's going on?" _

_"Ma you need to hurry -" the line crackles as he speaks and Emma has to hold the phone close and focus just to hear him, "Kid what's wrong?" she can hear the panic in his voice. _

_"It's Mom-help. Ma you need to come -forest." The line goes dead and Emma's heart drops in her chest. In the past few weeks they had let themselves get used to safety. After defeating Zelena they let themselves believe they were free and clear and now danger has found them once more. _

_She doesn't know what's happening. All she knows is that the woman she secretly loves is in danger and that her son is stuck out there somewhere too. Emma runs out of the Diner and hopes she is not too late._

Emma hasn't seen Regina in a few days. After the Marian incident Emma has been giving Regina her space and it's been killing her. She's missed Regina more than she ever thought she could. In her absence Emma realised what her heart had been feeling and trying to tell her all along. As she runs through the startlingly cold woods Emma hopes she isn't too late. She hopes with all her heart that she will get the chance to be something with Regina. _Please just let her be okay_.

There's a chill in the air and it worries Emma. The past few days have been cold, too cold and she can see her breath piercing the icy air. No-one knows the origin of this bizarre snowstorm but everyone has been trying to stay inside if they can. Even with her thick coat on Emma can feel the cold seeping into her bones.

She runs through the trees into a clearing and sighs in relief when she sees her son. What she sees in the next moment makes her heart stop in her chest. Henry is crouched down on the snow next to a prone and still figure. _No. No. No. _Emma rushes over sliding down through the snow in her hurry to be by her son.

Emma can't contain her sob as she sees who he's crouched down next to. She's not dressed for the weather at all. Emma can remember Regina telling her she was going to try and find the source of the storm but then heard nothing more. Now she wishes she had followed up. Regina's skin is cold to the touch and is a ghostly white. Her hair is a stark contrast to her now eerily pale skin and the snow surrounding her. Her eyes are closed and for a moment she looks like a cursed Snow White from the fairytale books. That thought sends another tear rolling down Emma's face. "What happened Henry?" she asks. She needs to know if this is something she can fix.

He shakes his head and she can see his reddened cheeks and the evidence of old and new tears across his cheeks. "I don't know. I was walking through the woods and I just found her like this. She's so cold Ma."

Emma nods wondering what the hell happened to Regina. She bends down picking the brunette up in her arms. Emma shivers at the icy chill that emanates from every pore of Regina. She holds Regina close to try and transfer some of her body heat. "Come on Regina. Open your eyes," she whispers. She doesn't notice the tiny hint of gold magic that runs along Regina's side.

In her arms Regina feels a sudden tingling of heat. It's a warm and welcome surprise from the cold flowing through her veins. She was foolish to come out here alone and she knows that now. Regina was expecting to find a spell gone wrong or a misplaced potion. What she found was Elsa the snow queen. She hasn't heard much about her but she's learned that Elsa doesn't like interruptions. She had called out to the woman only for Elsa to spin around. Panic flashed in the other woman's blue eyes and then suddenly magic flowed from her hands. Regina didn't even have time to move and the icy swirl hit her straight in the chest.

The next thing she knew she was tumbling down into the snow as a terrifying cold began to surround her. As her eyes closed she could make out Elsa running away in fear. She could feel the ice infiltrating her heart and knew that only one thing could save her. True love. At first she had thought of Henry, the son who she loves so much, but knew he could not save her this time and that it had to be a romantic love. To her surprise she didn't think of Robin but of Emma. _Please find me_ was her final thought before darkness and cold took over.

Then suddenly there was warmth in the form of a hand squeezing her own. Henry. His love kept her alive and gave her hope that she would be found soon. Then she felt herself being picked up and warmth flooded through her chilled frame. With all the strength she has she creaks an eye open to find Emma holding her close. "Em," she mutters weakly.

Emma gasps before looking down at Regina. _Thank god. She's still alive_, Emma thinks before she caresses Regina's cheek tenderly, "Hold on Regina. We're going to get you inside and warmed up. Just hold on."

"N-no," Regina stammers out her teeth chattering from the cold that seeks to claim her again.

"What?" Emma asks, "No! You need to hold on Regina. I have to save you."

Regina nods, "N-n-need t-t-true love," she manages to get out before she falls into unconsciousness right now.

Emma nods before looking at Henry, "Kiss her," she says. He frowns sadly before kissing her forehead. Nothing happens. "Why didn't it work?" Emma asks, panic filling her voice as Regina remains half-frozen in her arms.

"Because I'm not her only true love. Her kiss broke my memory spell because I'm a kid and so my true loves are my parents. Whilst I am one of my Mom's true loves I'm not the only one she opened her heart up for."

"But Robin's with Marian now," Emma says sadly.

"I wasn't talking about Robin," Henry says knowingly.

"What?"

"Ma, I know." Henry replies, "Now please save her. Only you can. Unfreeze her. You can do it Ma."

Emma looks down at the brunette in her arms. _Please let this work_ she pleads as she continues to stroke her thumb over Regina's frozen cheek. She can't lose her. She may not have admitted her love out loud yet but she knows she cannot lose Regina. She doesn't even care if Regina is still mad at her for bringing Marian back just as long as she's alive to be mad.

"I love you," she whispers hoping it isn't the last time she gets to say those words as she presses her lips against Regina's. The kiss is sweet and full of hope and love. For several agonising moments nothing happens and Regina's lips stay frozen. Then there's a flash of light and Emma feels lips move against her own. She remembers the moment Henry woke up. She knows she'll store this moment right alongside it. She doesn't dare open her eyes yet. She wants to keep this moment of kissing Regina and waking her up for as long as she can. She doesn't want to lose her yet.

"Mom?" Henry asks hopefully and Emma reluctantly pulls her lips away only to rest her forehead against Regina's. She can see warm caramel eyes looking up at her and she smiles as happy tears roll down her cheeks and splash onto Regina. The brunette is still cold but nowhere near as much. "Henry," Regina says holding out her hand to him. He takes it before hugging her and Emma. "You're okay."

She nods, "Just cold."

Emma smiles before kissing Regina's forehead, "Let's go get you warmed up."

* * *

Regina's been asleep for the past few hours. She fell asleep in the car but as Henry reassured her she was only asleep and not cursed. Emma knows that one day soon they will have to confront whoever hit Regina with magic and deal with them but right now all Emma cares about is keeping Regina safe and warm so they can save their family and the rest of the town together.

Henry is asleep in the armchair now, his childhood blanket wrapped tight around his legs. He refused to go to bed insisting on staying near his Mom. After this afternoon he wants to make sure she wakes up again. Understanding that Emma let him.

When they brought Regina home Emma stripped her of the thin dress that did nothing to protect her from the cold and quickly put her in a pair of pyjama pants, a long sleeved top and a jumper for safe measure. After that she laid Regina down on the couch and covered her in warmest and comfiest blanket.

Now Emma sits on the floor beside Regina watching the other woman sleep. She doesn't know what Regina is going to do or say when she wakes up and so Emma wants to drink in as much time as she can. She may have saved Regina up with true love's kiss but she knows that it doesn't mean an instant relationship. She knows that she wants a relationship with Regina. She just hopes Regina does to.

What Emma does know for certain is that she doesn't want to waste any time. She needs to tell Regina how she feels.

For now though she watches. She watches the steady rise and fall of Regina's chest which tells Emma she's alive. She takes in the soft wave of her dark brown locks and the way an errant curl falls across her forehead as she sleeps. Even when Emma tucks it back behind Regina's ear it still falls back. What entrances Emma most is the peaceful look on Regina's face. It's a look of serenity that Emma wishes Regina could wear more often.

She's currently holding Regina's hand. About an hour ago that peaceful expression had turned to whimpers and a look of pure fear that Emma had to soothe. She had whispered reassurances and sought out Regina's hand to offer comfort. That sent Regina back into a calm sleep and now Emma won't let go. She wants to protect Regina even in her sleep. She also just doesn't want to let go. She draws circles on the back of Regina's hand with her thumb in a soothing motion and dreams about holding this hand in public as they walk down the street.

"Emma?"

Emma looks up at the sound of her name and smiles brightly upon seeing Regina looking down at her. The colour has returned to her face and her lips are a beautiful pink again. Emma smiles, "Hey, how are you feeling?"

"Warm," Regina replies with a smile. "You saved me."

"Of course I did," Emma says, "I'll always save you if you need me to."

Regina smiles before seeing where Emma is, "You must be uncomfortable on that floor."

Emma shrugs, "I wanted to make sure you were safe."

Regina nods before slowly sitting up and patting the new space. "Come up." Emma complies moving up onto the couch. Once she's settled Regina lays down on top of her snuggling into Emma's warmth. Emma smiles as she wraps her arm around Regina's shoulder and the brunette's head rests atop her heart.

"Regina I need to know something."

"What?" Regina asks sleepily.

"This," she says gesturing to the way they're snuggled up together, "Is this just for tonight? I woke you up with true love's kiss and I just, I need to know what that means."

Regina smiles, "It means you love me too."

"Too?"

Regina nods, "Yes."

"So what does this mean?"

"It means that you saved me today and now we get a chance to figure out what we want to be. I love you and I'm glad you found me. You unfroze my heart Emma and it means that tomorrow I can wake up and feel and be with you and Henry. For tonight though just keep me warm like I know you can."

Emma smiles drawing the blanket back over them, "I can do that."

_Thanks for reading :) _


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